A computer system is typically purchased and supplied as a combined hardware-software system. In the past, software was supplied via flexible (floppy) diskettes by manual loading, diskette-by-diskette, into a diskette drive by a purchaser. Memory and disk drive capacity have expanded and the size of software images has soared so that loading of software via flexible diskette has become very cumbersome. For example, the size of a typical software system image has grown to a range of 2 to 600 megabytes and is expected to continuing growing in the future. Thus a large number of flexible diskettes, for example on the order of 50 diskettes or more, are typically used to transfer a typical software system image.
To reduce the burden of software loading, many computer system suppliers have replaced flexible diskettes with high-capacity compact disk (CD) ROMs for supplying software images. Typically, computer system suppliers that supply software on CD ROMs only sell a limited number of hardware configurations (for example 4 to 8) that utilize even fewer software configurations (for example 2 or 3). The software system generally includes a common operating system, a graphical user interface (GUI), hardware drivers, software utilities, and application programs for usage among computer systems having various hardware configurations. Software system components are chosen from a multitude of software selections generally based on the applications performed by the computer system. Performance of a computer system configuration, including both hardware and software functionality, depends upon allocation of various hardware resources including control, communication, and storage resources to multiple software tasks.
One problem that arises in computer systems relates to compatability of various software resources in a particular hardware configuration. For example, a computer user may wish to run an application program or graphical user interface that generally runs on an operating system that is not installed on the computer system. In one specific example, a user may wish to bootstrap load a Microsoft.RTM. Windows.TM. Graphical User Interface (GUI) when the Windows Operating System (OS) is not installed on a target system. The user may wish to use the Windows GUI to perform operations that do not otherwise utilize or need the full Windows OS functionality, operations including displaying HTML documents, running diagnostics, and executing system setup programs.
The described resource conflict arises when a non-Windows operating system, such as Unix, Lynx, NetWare.RTM., Banyan, or other Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, Calif.) based operating system, is installed on a target computer system and a user attempts to run a software application that uses or requires Windows OS functionality.
What is needed is a system and operating method that bootstrap loads and runs a graphical user interface (GUI) from CD-ROM when a read/write hard drive partition of an operating system is unavailable.